The Emotion of Majora's Mask - The Mail Man (support blog)

No sense in the introduction. This is a Majora's Mask support blog. It specifies the reason why I believe this game should win the tournament. However, this year I'm doing something a bit different. Myself and others who support the game will be taking a look at one individual character from the story in order to articulate our feelings on it. I'll be taking a look at the mailman.

Hope you enjoy : )

The Mail Man represents the inner complexity of Majora’s Mask as a game. Link can simply go about his business, putting the mission first and saving Termina. However, if the player chooses to stop a moment and look, they will find that the world of Majora’s Mask is so much deeper.

When I first played Majora’s Mask as a kid, I didn’t quite understand the Mail man. As I ran my way through the Clock Town looking for the next means of continuing the story there he would be, running around, delivering mail. If the player chooses to talk to him, he has little to say. He just notes that he must get back to work and then he’s on his way. Nothing stops him. I was almost annoyed by him as a kid.

That was, until I decided to look further. Upon completing sidequests, the player discovers the heart and soul of Termina. You get to know the characters of Clock Town. You understand their plight and you help heal their sorrows. It bears emotional satisfaction unlike anything else I have ever seen in a game. Majora’s Mask is about the personal connection a player has with the virtual inhabitants.

As I played more and more, I discovered who the mailman was: A man so committed to his work that he would die for it. Over time, you help him out with is task, but his fate seems inevitable. Once those three days are up, everyone in Clock Town will die, and it is because the characters are so deep and complex that you actually care about saving them. You don’t simply beat Majora’s Mask in order to complete a game. You do it because you care — because you genuinely want to. No game has made me feel like that before.

When you arrive in the Mail Man’s quarters during the final hours of Termina’s last day on Earth you witness him trembling, crouched down to the ground, praying for his life. It’s a harrowing site, and unlike anything else in any other Nintendo game. With a little perseverance, however, the mailman can survive. If the player completes a certain task then the mayor’s wife will order him to flee. You know the Mailman is so committed to his duty that he shall stay, but it’s also clear that he wishes to live with all his heart. The mayor’s wife makes the selfless choice of granting him a leave and Link watches him scurry away in happiness as he flees the Clock Town. It is at that point that the player feels like they’ve accomplished more than just a task. They have healed a soul.

And it is exactly this reason why I find Majora’s Mask so exceptional. It’s not just another well-designed game from Nintendo. It has a heart. It connects the player to its world in a way that no other can. Link is a healer in Majora’s Mask. Every time you save someone from a horrible fate, you’re overcome with an almost therapeutic sense of satisfaction. It is incredible.

This is why I believe this game deserves to win the MYIGN video game tournament. Best of luck to both games.